Safety device for vaults, safes, and the like



. 14,978 Jan. 18, 1927. E. M. BENHAM 1 6 Q SAFETY DEVICE FOR VAULTS, SAFES, AND TEE LIKE Filed Au ust 8, 1923 A TTORNE Y INVENTOR Patented Jan. 18, 1927.

EE'NT EDGAR 5M. BENHAM, OF NORWOOD, OHIO, "ASSIGNOR, "BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, THE MOSLERSAI'E"COMPANY, F HAMILTON; OHIO, ACORPORATIONOENEWQYORK.

S'AFETY DEVIGE F0IRAV-AU'IJDS, zsAEES, AKZD .THElLIKE.

Application filed August 8, 1923. Serial .No. -ee,a94.

.-'.Dhis invention ;relates :to safety devices rforvaults, safes 23:1'ld lthe like, and more ,particularly toimeans operable "from the interior ofthestructureior admitting air to -5 ((3,; person locked insidetof the structure. I

:Atthe-present day many persons, principally bankers, I are ;m11ch--,concerned about "being waylaildiby burglars and forced into azacsate-ior vault, and having the door closed 1 ::and looked uponthem, in which case they inarelsubjectedsto the. dangeriof being sufiocatefd duetoithevlack of means for allowing iairltoi enter the structure when it is locked.

The principal object of my inventionis to 15 prov-idea devicevwhich is adapted to be ase-sociated withla vault,1safe..or similar struc- ;ture, and i which isv operable from. the inside of the structure to opentan air passageway rfromtheexteriorzto theinteriolioii the struc- 2 ture \without requiring the structure to be .unlockedand opened.

Aiurtherpbjectof my invention is tov ;prov=ide tmeans of the character. described which are not operable. from the exterior of ;the stnucture.

Other; objects of my invention will be in inafter.

ilniorder that a clearer understanding of my invention maybe had,.attention' is here- .byad-irected to the accompanying, drawings, .torming a ,part of this (application and lillustrating one possible embodiment of my invention.

Referring to: the drawings .Fig.,,1 isa sectional view throughflan' enclosingwalhof avault orsafe, showing; the i safety. deviceassociated therewith; and

'Fig. :2 is a reari end view of the safety 40 adevice.

.Similar: reference characters refer to simiopen an. air passageway from-theexterior to the interior of the structure. ,Theplug is .not removable from vthe exterior of'the air-passageway QeXtending from the exi terioi' of the Wall.

terior. ,3 tov the interior ,4. plugfi fillsthis passageway and 1 is removable f from I the f ,in-

This passageway and plug may, be. provided in any, shapes desired.

Ina preferred form however, the passageway consists. of. a narrow pQrtiQn 16i t ward theexterior of the .wall, ,atlerger portion 7 at the end of the portionfig n'dia still larger portion 8 toward thereareofnthe. structure.

. Portions 6 t and. 7 may ,becircularon angular, as desired, but portion. SIiSpPeferably cirv cularand has interior fthreaidsj9, which are adapted to engage Withiexte'rior threads on a retaining member 10, Which'isalsoprovided. With a. handle .or halfdgiipflll, whereby EmemberlO may be sorewedjbinto or out of aperture portion 8. The plugfforthe air passageway also-comprises narrow portion zpa-rtuobvioushand ,inpart pointed out here- 12 and: .largen portion 13, respectively complementary to and adapted-to ffill the; por- .tionsi6wand 7 of the, air pas sageway. HEX- tending \rearWa-rdly from por'tion j 13 1 is a circulaiyportion 14,whi'chVeXteI,1'dS through a suitable aperture 15 i in member 10, and

hasat its outergend an enlarged portion 16 formed by upsetting thelinneroend of por- ,lanpartsthroughout bothiviews ofthe drawtion 14, and, if "desired, in 7 addition, a washer or, nut17.

The operation of, thedevice will be apparentffromthe above description. Normally,

- theplug is permanently disposed within the anpassageway, filling the. same ;in such ,a way, as to prevent explosivesifrom' being fed into the structure. However, shoulda .per-

- sonflbejlockedinside of ,therstructure arid be unable to open the same'in the regular way, 1he.-may,,nevertheless, open theair passageway [by merely removing the plug there- ,frorh. ,In the embodimentshowmj to remove the plug,the person unscrews the retaining member 10. Continuation of this. operation will bring the member 10 against the enlarged inner end of the central plug portion, and will draw it out of the air passageway progressively with the removal of the mem ber 10 therefrom. When member 10 has been completely unscrewed, the entire plug maybe lifted out of the passageway. The replacement of the plug is accomplished by placing the plug in the passageway and screwing member 10 inwardly on the wall.

The removal of the plug from the passageway from the outside of the wall is prevented by reason of the threaded engagement between member 10 and the wall.

A safety device in accordance with my invention may be applied to vault or safe doors, vestibule doors, to the lining of a vault or safe, or in the top or bottom or sides of such structures.

The device, however, should be conveniently accessible to a person within the structure.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What I claim is 1. The combination with a vault wall having asafety aperture therethrough, of an untethered plug disposed in said aperture and completely removable therefrom, and means engaging the, plug and having a readily releasable threaded connection with the vault wall, for releasably confining the plug in said aperture.

2. The combination with a vault wall having a safety aperture therethrough, of a plug disposable in said aperture, and a retaining member abutting said plug from the rear and threadedly connected to said vault wall, whereby said plug is releasably confined in said aperture against rearward removal therefrom, said retaining member being rotatable with respect to both the plug and vault wall.

3. The combination with a vault wall having a safety aperture therethrough, of a plug disposable in said aperture, and a retaining member abutting said plug from the rear and threadedly connected to said vault wall, whereby said plug is releasably confined in said aperture against rearward removal therefrom, said retaining member being rotatable with respect to both the plug and vault wall, and interlocking with the plug whereby the plug may be withdrawn from said aperture by means of the retaining member.

4;. The combination with a vault wall having a safety aperture therethrough, said aperture having a rearwardly directed internal abutment, of a plug disposable in said aperture and having a shoulder engageable against said abutment whereby forward movement of the plug in said aperture is limited, and means engaging the plug and having a threaded comiection with the vault wall, for releasably confining the plug in said aperture.

5. The combination with a vault wall having a safety aperture therethrough formed with an enlarged portion at the rear of a narrower portion, of a plug conforming in shape to and fitted in said aperture, a retaining member threadedly connected to the vault wall, and an extension on the plug rearwardly of its enlarged portion penetrating said retaining member, said retaining member abutting the enlarged portion of the plug when the retaining member is connected to the wall, limiting rearward movement of the plug in the aperture.

6. In a structure of the character described, a wall having a vent hole therethrough, a plug removably seated in the hole, a separate retainer associated with the plug and in threaded engagement with the wall adjacent the inner end of the hole, and means accessible from the rear of the wall for manipulating said retainer into and out of engagement with the threads in the wall to permit and to prevent removal of the plug from the hole.

7.1n a structure of the character described, a wall having a vent hole therethrough, a plug removably seated in the hole, a separate retainer associated with the plug and in threaded engagement with the wall adjacent the inner end of the hole, and means accessible from the rear of the wall for manipulating said retainer into and out'of engagement with the threads in the wall to permit and to prevent removal of the plug from the hole, said retainer rotatably encircling the plug.

8. In a structure of the character described, a wall having a vent hole therethrough, a plug removably seated in the hole, a hub associated with the plug and in threaded engagement with the wall adjacent the inner end of the hole, and means accessible from the rear of the wall for manipulating said hub into and out of engagement with the threads in the wall to permit and to prevent removal of the plug from the hole, said hub rotatably encircling the plug, and means on the plug in the rear of the hub limiting rearward movement of the hub relatively to the plug.

9. In a structure of the character described, a wall having a vent hole therethrough, a plug removably seated in the hole, a hub associated with the plug and in threaded engagement with the wall adjacent the inner end of the hole, and means accessible from the rear of the Wall for small portion, and said plug having a small manipulating said hub into and out of enportion seating in the small front portion of gagement With the threads in the Wall to perthe hole, a larger portion seating in the 10 mit and to prevent removal of the plug from larger portion of the hole.

5 the hole, said hub rotatably encircling the This specification signed this 4 day of plug, said hole having a small front por- August, 1923. tion, and a larger portion at the rear of the EDGAR M. BENHAM. 

